Lady in Cement (1968)

An enjoyable and relaxed gangster romp with late 1960s style.

Private detective Tony Rome (Frank Sinatra) is scuba diving off the coast of Miami when he discovers a dead blonde with her feet incased in cement on the sea bed. He begins to investigate why she was killed after being hired by man mountain Waldo (Dan Blocker). Tony begins his investigation in seedy girlie bars (of course) and discovers rich beauty Kit (Raquel Welch) is involved somehow, as is retired hoodlum Mungar (Martin Gabel)...

Not a bad film though doesn't make a huge amount of sense, it just seems to slide from scene to scene with some amusing quips by Sinatra and physical humour from Blocker. The film needs an edge but is a little too light to give it one. 

But it is perfectly entertaining enough to be worthwhile. It tries very hard to be cool, and sometimes succeeds. The psychedelic-ish girlie bar for example.

House of the Long Shadows (1983)

An enjoyable horror romp with a twist, also the last time Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing appeared together in a film.

Annoying American author Ken Magee (Desi Arnaz Jr) is set a curious bet by his publisher (Richard Todd), he is given 24 hours to write a novel and will win a $20K bet if he succeeds. As he needs peace and quiet, he is offered the use of a remote empty mansion in Wales. Reaching the mansion in a storm is not that easy but Ken makes it, and he sets up his typewriter. However, he immediately hears noises... the mansion is not empty after all.

In fact there is soon a whole dining room full of people there, including a man who claims to be the housekeeper (John Carradine), as well as some former inhabitants (Vincent Price and Peter Cushing) and a man (Christopher Lee) who is wanting to buy the mansion. However, there is a dark secret in the house involving a murder, and an imprisoned beast. Ken is joined by secretary Mary (Julie Peasgood) to try and discover the secret, and survive once the bodycount starts to rise...

This is a terrific film with it's cast of horror legends and a real old skool horror feel, it may be a bit slow to get going but once the action gets started it is pretty relentless. The film does have a rather large twist at the end which some will feel is inspired but others might feel a bit of a cop-out. 

The Town That Dreaded Sundown (1976)

A low-budget but highly entertaining horror made in a semi-documentary style (and based on real events).

It is 1946, a small town in Texas is rocked by a series of attacks by a masked maniac. Courting couples are not safe in their cars on Lovers Lane, he even starts attacking couples in their own homes. Top policeman Morales (Ben Johnson) is bought in to lead the investigation, though assisted by Deputy Ramsey (Andrew Prine) and Patrolman Benson (Charles B Pierce) he doesn't really get very far...

Just like the real case in fact, the murders were never solved and to this day the identity of the maniac is unknown. If the police investigation shown here is accurate then you can see why as they didn't really do a lot. This is an enjoyable horror/crime film with some decent thrills. There is a little bit of goofy humour added too for some reason which doesn't really add anything, luckily this nonsense is kept to a minimum.

Hollywood After Dark (1961)

A rather sleazy tale, more no-rent than low-rent.

Tony (Tony Vorno) owns a scrapyard in Hollywood. He is recruited by the owner of a strip club to join in a planned raid on an armoured car though is rather hesitant to go through with it. Tony who seems somewhat morose about... well everything but he falls in love with Sandy (Rue McClanahan), a Hollywood hopeful who is hoping to become a star but instead seems to be taking her clothes off for a handful of cheap punters. Tony decides to go through with the heist so he can use the money to help Sandy...

A very cheap and rather awful film. The film has poor acting, a poor plot, and is rather poorly made. Even the strip show scenes are rather grim. You do get to see a future Golden Girl do a burlesque strip show though!

House of Bamboo (1955)

A tough and taut crime drama in early postwar Japan.

Dawson (Robert Ryan) runs a tough crime syndicate in 1950s Japan, even stealing weapons from a military train. Eddie (Robert Stack) is a US Army investigator who goes undercover as a two-bit hoodlum who has come over to Tokyo to try his luck. He links up with Mariko (Shirley Yamaguchi), the girl of an ex-gang member who Dawson had shot, and manages to get into Dawson's group.

He needs to find evidence and catch Dawson on the job, knowing that the boss has inside men in the police, this does not prove to be that easy though. Can Eddie stop Dawson before his cover is blown?

A lovely period piece set in a Japan just starting to emerge from the postwar rebuild. The film is tense with hard boiled leads and a superb final confrontation in a fair ground. Not quite a Noir (its in colour for a start) but definitely has that feel.

GoldenEye (1995)

A new Bond and a good reboot with Pierce Brosnan now in possession of the Walther PPK.

Years before 007 and 006 raid and destroy a Soviet secret weapon factory, though 006 (Sean Bean) doesn't make it out alive. Now the Soviet Union has collapsed, but the top secret space weapon system GoldenEye is still in operation... until it is stolen by Ourumov (Gottfried John) and the rather psychotic Xenia (Famke Janssen). GoldenEye can destroy electronic systems. Now the GoldenEye is being readied to attack London and destroy the world financial system.

Along with Natalya (Izabella Scorupco), the only survivor of the raid on the GoldenEye base, Bond must discover who is really behind the plot to steal the weapon. The identity of whom is a surprise even to James...

A slightly harder and more serious Bond than the films of the 1980s, a very good return to form. The action scenes, especially the tank car chase in St Petersburg are pretty spectacular, but Bond still has his quips.

The Perils of Pauline (Serial) (1933)

This shares a title with the famous serial which more or less started the genre, 1914's The Perils of Pauline but little else. This is, though, a pretty decent little set of cliffhangers.

Professor Hargrave (James Durkin) and his daughter Pauline (Evelyn Knapp) are in Indo-China during a time of revolution, Hargrave is working on a deadly gas which in the wrong hands would be a terrible weapon. Evil Dr Bashan (John Davidson) has those "wrong hands". With Bashan in pursuit, the Hargraves along with Robert (Craig Reynolds) seek out an ivory disc with the formula written on it...

The serial starts out strongly with a good budget and good use of newsreel footage though gets a bit stuck in the middle during an overlong stay in the Indonesian jungle (which for some reason, due to re-used sets, includes an Ancient Egyptian temple!) The climax in the US is a return to form though the ending is rather sudden.

This fulfils the brief for a perfectly acceptable movie serial, good cliffhangers, re-use of whatever sets and costumes were available and ridiculous plot lines (complete with a superbly evil baddie). Excellent entertainment.